The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1887-02-03
THE PAGE AFFAIR,
Triumph ofa Persecut Il Man and the
Terrible Punishment Of has Enemies.

Many of our readers will remember
the relentless warfare waged against
Judge Page a few years ago in Mower
and adjoining counties. We had much
to say in the ADVANCE at the time
about the affair, knowing rs we did
that Judge Page was, in the main, a
prosecuted man, prosecuted by relent
less politicians and malignant people.
Every possible engine was used against
him, the politicians even joining the
churches in order to turn them against
Page and his friends. The affair cul
minated in the hiring Of an assassin to
assassinate the Judge and the attempt
came very near succeeding.
We took a double interest in the af-
fair because our own case here was in
many respects the parallel Of the Page
affair. No assassination was attempt
ed, because our enemies were too cow
ardly to try that and because we were
hardly of enough consequence to pay so
costly 4 penalty for daring to be indie
pendent. But in a hundred things the
two cases were similar, and the case of
an editor at Austin who dared to stand
up for Page. was still more in exact &C
cord with our own.
But now for the sequel. Page has
amassed fortune in California and
his leading enemies have gone to the
bad and the dogs. (The parallel might
be traced in this also to some ex-
tent.)
The Adrian Guardian copies An arti-
Gle from the Blue Earth City Post
which tells the story. The Guardian
says:
The men who were instrumental in
causing all the trouble haye one by one
went to the bad, as the following
shows, and we could not help exclaim
ing, when we read it, ''tilne makes all
things even." 1t is worth perusal fol
the l.ssOn it teaches:
T.. H. Davidson, of the Austin Tran
script, has sold his paper and gone tc
Peoria, Ill.,, to take il position on somt
sheet in that city. Mr.. Davidson leaves
the state OF Minnesota with a criminal
indictment hanging over his head
This leads US to reflect upon Il singula,
coincidence, or rather chain of coin.
cidences, connected with the leading
men of Austin, who were known as
''anti Page" during the troublesome
period when that city was passing
through the thr"es of Il ierc'
and bitter internecine war, yet fresh in
the public mind, which culminate &C
tragically in the attempt to assassinatt
Judge Page in his home, and in the
death of his devoted wife which fol
lowed soon after as a result of tht
dreadful shock her nervous system
sustained during the exciting hour ot
the attempted murder. Dire misfor
tune seems to have befallen many "1
the leading agents in the local guarre
among the anti Page faction. to an ex
tent that makes it q matter OF remark
! wh"re the parties are known. Judge
Harwood. postmaster. defaulted ant
left the state in disgrace. kimball
the county clerk, became involved in :
disgracefnl alliance with a nOtoriOu!
blonde, which broke up his family ant
ruincd him financially. Jones, at tha
time q leading hardware merchant
went into bankruptcy. wilkins \
Smith. of the Mower County bank. =:
prosperous institution, failed, and ar
passing under cloud affecting thei
! integrity and business honor. G. II
Davidson. Of the Transcript, leaves TIL
state with a criminal indictment hang
ing over him like \ pail. What fat
has in store for few others Of til
gang time will develop. In the mean
time Judge Page. the object Of thei
hatred and intrigue. has moved to Cal
ifornia. where he has amassed a fo,
tune estimated at nearly quarter of
million.